Monday, March 28, 2011

Rogue waves?

Since Dr. Rood kept mentioning "rogue waves" and I had no idea what rogue waves were, I figured I would riddle myself that! Here's what I found:

A rogue wave is a single unpredictable, massive wave. The massiveness is simply measured by comparing it to other waves of the time and area and it being significantly bigger. They are sometimes called "walls of water." They are different from tsunami waves because tsunami waves are somewhat predictable while rogue waves are not. Scientists are completely sure as to why rogue waves occur, but they have many good theories. One is that they are formed when waves hit ocean currents head on, causing a massive "pile up." Another is wave reinforcement, meaning 2 waves combine forming a larger wave. Though rogue waves have been documented in sailor's journals throughout history, they are still somewhat a mysterious, ominous occurrence.

Here is a picture of a rogue wave demolishing a ship off the coast of Panama:

And here is a video of a 60 foot rogue wave hitting a boat in the Bering Sea